The Birth of Sleipnir
by SouvenirsFamiliers
Summary: How Loki brought the horse Sleipnir into the world, based on Norse mythology canon. Thorki if you squint.
1. Chapter 1

_The Birth of Sleipnir and the Building of the Fortress _

_Author's note: _This is based on the canon of Norse mythology (specifically the account of this story in the Gylfaginning section of the Prose Edda), but the characters are as they were interpreted in the movies _Thor_ and _The Avengers. _

This is also posted on my tumblr.

* * *

_Part I_

"Loki, we are calling the counsel to discuss the building of our stronghold. Are you coming?"

Loki looked up from his book in surprise. He was sitting against a pillar holding up the eaves of Valhalla, facing the forest. It was one of the few places he was able to find some peace and quiet, as Valhalla was already loud with the gods and the souls of the dead. However, he had also chosen this spot because it was difficult to stumble upon accidentally, so the god who was addressing him must have come looking for him. "The stronghold?" Loki inquired.

The god raised an eyebrow. "You hardly think Valhalla is sufficient for all the Æsir and the dead as well, do you? With your brother hunting in the east, we have need of you on the counsel."

"Ah." Loki stood and brushed himself off. "I will come if you will allow me to place this in my quarters first." He held up the book. "Where are we meeting?"

"At the trunk of Yggdrasil, as always. The summons were given several hours ago, so the meeting is about to begin."

"Yes, how silly of me to ask," Loki said snidely. "Well, I shall have no trouble finding it, so you need not worry that I will be late. It is difficult to miss."

The god gave him a distrusting look, but merely nodded and left. Loki watched him go and then turned to Valhalla. Sharp green eyes examined its structure in a new light. The hall had been built wider than any other structure the gods had yet built, but it was many times longer than it was wide. The massive structure could hold ten thousand times its current occupants, Loki knew, and though he disliked the noise, it was far from crowded. That would change, of course, but the Æsir had plenty of time still before they would need to think of building a home for themselves. However, the hall had no walls or fortifications of any kind. Its roof might be made of gold shields, but they would do little to protect from a ground attack. It was built on flat land and surrounded by forests. Strategically, it was ill-positioned at best.

The god had said "stronghold." If the Æsir planned on fending off any kind of attack, that was exactly what they would need.

* * *

Despite Loki's promise, the meeting had already started by the time he arrived. A small hall had been built beside the trunk of Yggdrasil, the great ash tree that joined all the realms. Inside the hall was a long table ringed by enough chairs for all the Æsir, though Loki usually declined to join them when they were in counsel. This time, however, he was intrigued. It was quite a large decision. Thor would be annoyed that he had gone off to hammer trolls in the east at the wrong time and missed it.

Although, knowing Thor, maybe not.

"The smith promises us he can build us a fortress that would be strong enough to withstand mountain trolls and frost giants, and he promises it will take him only three seasons. However, he demands a high price."

"What is this price?" Odin asked from his place at the head of the table. Loki silently took a seat a few chairs down.

"He demands the hand of Freyja in marriage, and he wants to be given the sun and the moon."

A rumbling went around the table. The Vanir were equal in power with the Æsir but of a different temperament. Though they were not as proud as the Æsir, Freyja would still not be pleased to have her hand bargained for, especially without her knowledge. Convincing her to marry this strange smith would be hard enough, but to give him the sun and the moon would destroy the heavens and bring darkness. It was too great a price, but, the god explained, the smith could not be convinced to change his terms.

"Perhaps we do not need a fortress after all," one god pointed out. "It is hard for the mountain trolls and frost giants to reach us here, and there are many of us. If we decide we need a fortress, we can build it ourselves."

"But can we build one as strong as this smith claims he can? I would rather we take the precaution than let ourselves be wiped out."

"It is not a precaution, it is a necessity. We must keep ourselves safe."

"It may be that he will fail us anyway. Even all the Æsir in twice the time could not do what he claims."

"But if he can, could we not take advantage of his offer somehow? We do not have men to spare to build such a thing. It is certainly a tempting offer."

"I agree." The room went silent and heads turned to look at Loki. Loki met their eyes evenly but avoided looking anywhere near Odin. "Let him try to build this fortress with his demands in mind. If he will not change his terms, we should change ours. If he can not meet them, we do not have to deliver on our half of the bargain, but we will still gain the fruits of his labor."

There was a moment of silence. Loki tried not to hold his breath too conspicuously; it was a risky plan, but the best one that had been offered so far, and he knew it. However, sometimes the Æsir preferred to err on the side of caution, Odin especially.

"Our terms would still have to be good enough to let him think he had a chance," a god pointed out, and Loki let out a long breath.

"He will hardly care if he believes he will get what he wants," another countered. "Also, he cannot expect us to accept all his terms. One does not ask for Freyja's hand in marriage and the sun and the moon lightly."

"If we were to take this route," said Odin slowly, "He must attempt to prove that we can accept his claims without doubt. He expected three seasons. We shall give him only one."

_Shall. _Loki nearly smiled.

"And winter comes upon us," someone said, and noises of agreement were heard around the table.

"What if he enlists aid? He never said how many men he would have help him. Perhaps he could finish it in only a season with thrice the number."

"We must deny it to him." The words fell heavily in the room.

"All aid?" someone asked after a moment. "We must demand the difficult, not the truly impossible."

"How many men, then? Ten? A hundred? It is clear to any who have seen him that he is a giant. He is worth ten men himself. Even two giants is too many."

"We do not know his strength," Odin agreed, "But what if he will not accept our terms? We cannot show weakness in our bargaining. This must be our final offer."

"Loki, what say you?" a god asked, and all turned to look at Loki. "It was your suggestion, and now we are at an impasse."

Loki licked his lips. His mouth had suddenly gone dry. He glanced at the All-Father, but Odin was watching him calmly like the rest. Loki met the eyes of the god who had spoken. "If we will not allow him to ask the help of giants, we should at least grant him the use of his horse."

"His horse's name is Svadilfari," said a god. "It is a magnificent creature and larger than any I have seen, as any giant's horse should be, but it is only a horse."

"Then those are our terms," Odin said, and his voice rumbled through the hall. "We will meet with the smith and tell him so."

The counsel was adjourned. Loki smiled, a slight smile, but a proud one none the less. He might not be as great a warrior as Thor, but that did not mean that he was any less worthy of the approval of the counsel and their father.

* * *

_Author's note:_ . . . And then everything went to hell. /spoilers (No, that's another one of Loki's kids.)


	2. Chapter 2

_Author's note: _Apparently the Nordic year was split into winter and summer, so in the last section "three seasons" was really about a year and a half, and here "winter" is really about six months long.

* * *

_Part II_

Thor had traveled a long way to find the trolls. He had left the other Æsir at the end of the summer when the leaves were beginning to turn. His mother had told him that he should wait until winter had passed, but Thor had laughed and told her that he saw no need to waste time. Trolls had been spotted in the east troubling farmers. It was not a vital mission, true, and the trolls were not much of a challenge, but there was no shortage of trolls to keep him occupied and Thor was tired of being cooped up.

"Be safe," Frigga had said, and kissed him on both cheeks.

"I will, mother," he had said with a smile. Odin had merely clapped him on the shoulder before nodding and turning away. The Warriors Three had been there too, and they had wished him luck in battle – and there in the back had been Loki, smiling slightly, his dark hair curling just below his ears. Thor had shaken off the encouragements of his friends and strode over to Loki. "Brother, will you wish me well?"

"I see no need. Trolls are no match for you. I only hope you can find them, for you reputation doubtless precedes you."

Thor had laughed and clapped Loki on the arm. "You are too kind, brother. I promise you to bring you a troll's head if you can keep out of trouble while I'm gone."

Loki's smile had turned into a smirk. "I'd rather you didn't. They smell so terribly."

Thor had grinned and let his hand fall from his brother's arm. "Fare thee well, brother."

_"And you." _

Thor looked up at the grey sky where it made the dark mountains stand out starkly in the distance. He could hear those two words as well as if Loki had whispered them in his ear. Thor closed his eyes briefly. It had been many days already since he had left – even a month, perhaps. The ground was becoming colder, the days darker. An ache was beginning to settle in his chest. He missed home. He missed Loki's smiles, his rare laughter, the amused way he would look up from a book when Thor disturbed him. Yet Thor had given himself a quest, and he had not yet reached the true dwelling places of the trolls, deep in the mountains. He hefted Mjölnir in his hand and changed his grip, the better to wield it in battle. No, he would not go home yet.

* * *

After the Æsir counsel had come to their decision, Odin had asked a small number of the counsel to remain and had summoned the smith to meet with them. Loki had tagged along, though mostly out of curiosity; with all of Odin's most trusted warriors there, Loki was not needed as a witness. The smith, who was indeed very large ("giant," one of the gods had called him; the Æsir did not deal with giants, as a rule, but perhaps this man was only a giant because of distant ancestry), agreed to their terms readily enough. He seemed anxious, however, to see the group of warriors, and asked if Thor had returned. He was relieved to hear that he had not, and demanded that they swear many oaths so that neither side would break the bargain. Loki smirked. He would not have gone light on the oaths, either, had Thor been against him; Thor only honored promises if they were sealed strongly, and he could easily have driven this man away without a second thought.

Finally, the smith was satisfied. They bid their farewells and retired to their own halls. The first day of winter was in two days.

The first day of winter dawned bright, clear, and rather warm. The Æsir watched from a distance as the man and his horse arrived at the place that had been chosen. The man began to clear debris. After some time, he hooked a cart up to the horse and drove it away. When he returned, a large boulder was in the cart. The horse did not seem to feel its weight at all. The man rolled the boulder from the cart and into position. The man and horse went away again. This time, the boulder was so large not even twenty Æsir could have moved it, and the man could barely push it off the cart. The horse had not even broken a sweat. Loki's eyebrows slowly raised. Perhaps this horse was a little more unique than they had thought.

By the fifth day, the base of a great keep was becoming clear. By the end of the first month, it had reached its full height and even Odin was uneasy. By the end of the second month, the base of the rest of the fortress had been laid out. By the end of the fourth month, the Æsir were beginning to regret their decision.

Loki paced under the eaves of Valhalla. The air was cold enough to freeze breath and the snow was thick on the ground, but Loki hated the warmth of the hall. He hated the way everyone's eyes followed him whenever he moved, the way they would say things to each other in undertones even when he was looking right at them. Loki drew his furs closer around him and hissed in a breath through his teeth. The air was cold enough to burn his throat. He deserved it.

"You," said someone, and Loki turned sharply at the sudden clear sound. A god had just come out of the hall and was walking toward Loki, a friend trailing a few steps behind him. The one who had spoken had been on the counsel on that day.

Loki gritted his teeth and widened his stance. "Yes?" he sneered. His heart hammered in his chest. He had been half waiting for a confrontation since the first boulder had been placed, and here it was.

"Do you know what the All-Father is going to do when he learns that he has to give that man the impossible?" The god was close to Loki now, only an arm's length away. He leaned closer and Loki could smell old meat on his breath. Loki wrinkled his nose. _"Do you know what you have done?"_ The god was nearly screaming.

"It was the counsel's decision," Loki said, but the words felt flat on his tongue. He tried to sneer, but his lips felt numb. "Winter is not over yet. Save your judgements for when they are worth something."

The god's face darkened. For a moment, Loki thought he was going to hit him. "You are scum," the god hissed, and brushed past him, nearly knocking him over as he did so. Loki stared straight ahead, breathing hard. _You do not need to be afraid of them, _he tried to tell himself. It was difficult to believe when he felt as though a hand were closing around his throat.

_You have failed. _

Loki leaned heavily against a pillar. The wood was slick with ice, but Loki hardly felt it against his bare cheek. He hated that even he blamed himself. Had Thor been there . . .

Loki rested a gloved hand against the pillar. He had not truly thought of Thor in so long. Every morning when he saw the sun rise in the east he would think, _Good morning, brother, _but he did not think of what that meant. There was only the faint memory of a smile attached to that greeting. But now that he had thought of him, he could not stop. He imagined Thor coming home, seeing him, smiling; later, someone telling him the news and a frown of confusion crossing his face: "You say this is Loki's fault? You must be mistaken." A shake of his head, his golden hair brushing across his face. "My brother would never make a mistake like that. It must be this man who had broken the bargain."

Loki closed his eyes. He could see Thor's face so clearly, and yet he was not there. He was so, so far away, and there was no way he would be there to tell Loki that it was alright.

And what if when Thor heard the news, months later, he believed it? Now an angry frown darkened his face, and his fist gripped Mjölnir tightly. "We should never have bargained with this stranger in the first place. You should not have listened to Loki."

And then, an echoing voice that was Thor's and all the gods' all at once:_"He is scum." _

Loki slumped against the pillar and slid to its base. He knew in his heart that Thor would not forgive him. The disapproving looks of his father, his brother, and all the other gods besides. For once, Loki had no idea what to do.

He squeezed his eyes tightly and cried. The tears burned tracks down his frozen cheeks. He had not felt so hopeless in a long time. As night fell around him, his buried his face in his knees and sobbed silently, absolutely alone.

* * *

Two days before the last day of winter, three before the first of summer – the last day of their bargain – the counsel was called again. This time, Loki's attendance was not optional. He took a seat at his father's left this time. He held his head high and kept his expression as cold as stone. If he were to be punished, he would not hide.

"The construction of the fortress is nearly at completion. Its walls are as strong and unassailable as he promised. Only its entrance remains to be finished." There was a moment of dead silence. The god licked his lips and continued. "It will be finished within the time allotted. When this happens, we will have to give him the sun and the moon, destroying the heavens, and we must convince the Vanir goddess Freyja to give him her hand in marriage."

The hall was silent once more. "Though we all agreed to these terms," someone said in a rough voice, "They were suggested by only one of us. Who among us, I ask, is responsible for this?" All eyes found Loki's face. Loki clenched his jaw.

_"Loki,"_ someone hissed, and there was a loud scrape and the noise of drawn steel as someone pushed back their chair and lunged toward him. Loki started and jumped out of his seat. Suddenly the room was alive with yells and the noise of many warriors drawing their weapons at once. They rushed toward Loki, many of them jumping up on the table to reach him. Loki backed up, his feet stumbling over themselves, until his back hit solid wood. He reached out his hand behind him, sliding away from them, and found that he had been backed into a corner. His eyes searched the crowd in front of him frantically. His eyes met Odin's for an instant. The All-Father's gaze was impassive. Loki knew he had lost. A fist met his stomach and Loki doubled over in pain, gasping. He stared at the floor, his vision going white. He had never felt so terrified in his life.

"We should run him through."

"None of this would have happened if you didn't exist," someone hissed. "You do not deserve a clean death. You should know pain before you die."

"Wait," Loki wheezed.

"No, we should cut out his tongue, and kill him then." A cold blade pressed against his throat and Loki strained his head back, away from the steel.

"I can fix it," Loki gasped, and he knew he was begging, but he did not care. "If you give me a chance, I will fix it."

"Will you?" someone demanded. "If you do not keep him from completing that fortress, we will gut you and feed you to the crows.

"I will fix it, I promise," Loki repeated. He was half crouched, half standing against the rough wooden wall. Slowly, the crowd drew back and he straightened. The steel left his throat and was sheathed.

"Swear it."

"I swear."

The hall emptied, and no one looked back.


	3. Chapter 3

_Part III_

Loki did not dare go into any of the halls where the other gods might decide to confront him again, so he went into the forest. He sat down in the mouldering leaves at the base of an ash tree and closed his eyes. An ash tree, like Yggdrasil, whose branches and roots reached to all the realms, who would see everything if only it had eyes.

Loki let his senses stretch east, toward the mountains. Trees were beginning to grow their leaves again, and the pines were shaking off the cold that had settled on them for so long. Creatures stirred in their burrows. Some were already seeking out mates. In the mountains, though, the snow had not yet melted. Life was scarce there. Although Loki tried, he could not sense anything beyond that. Thor was still far away, too far for him to reach. Loki drew back in on himself. Even if he had found his brother, he was not sure he would have summoned him. He had to do this alone.

With his eyes still closed, Loki looked inward. He could not hope to best the man or his horse by strength, and he had few ways to trick them. Temptation, however, was almost always as good as a clever trick. Early summer, the time for mating. He had watched Svadilfari, the giant's horse, for many months and knew it was a stallion. A stallion was always in need of a mare.

Loki opened his eyes. His hands trembled. He had never done something this difficult before. He had perfected the imitation of form a long time ago and could fool anyone with his illusions. He had changed his own form before, as well, but always into a body he was familiar with. He tried to picture the form he would take: a stallion, jet-black . . . but no. A mare, dapple grey and gentle-looking, with hindquarters strong enough to deliver a strong kick but legs made for running. A horse faster than even a giant's horse. A mare in heat. Loki closed his eyes again. This time when he opened them, he was no longer a god, but a mare with soft brown eyes.

* * *

The Æsir gathered to watch the smith work. The day was becoming evening, and the horse's haunches glistened with sweat as it dragged a great block of stone into place. The smith placed the stone, and then turned the horse back the way they had come to gather more boulders. Suddenly, for the first time since the builder had begun his work, the horse stopped. It raised its head and perked its ears. The man spoke to it but it ignored him. It pranced in place, smelling the air. Then, it whinnied, a shrill sound, and the gods saw a second horse approaching at a gentle run. It slowed, walked up to the stallion, and stopped barely a horse's length away. The mare perked its ears. The stallion went mad.

The smith shouted and tried to grab hold of Svadilfari's harness, but the horse jerked out of his reach. It whinnied again and tugged at the ropes holding it to the cart, but the smith had hold of them and was clearly fighting to hold the horse with all his strength. The stallion bucked, throwing the smith away from it, and cut the ropes with sharp hooves. The mare turned and bolted for the forest, faster than any horse the gods had seen. The stallion snorted and followed at a gallop, seemingly as fresh as it had been that morning. In an instant, they disappeared into the forest. With a yell, the smith ran after them, but it was clear he would never catch them.

"Well done, Loki," Odin murmured as the sun set. "You have kept your oath."

* * *

The next morning, the smith went back to work, but it was clear he had not caught Svadilfari. He tried to work twice as hard, but it was not enough. It was clear he would not finish, even with two days left. As it approached evening, the smith stopped working. He picked up a boulder and threw it with a yell at the wall of the fortress. It did little damage, but the show of strength shocked the gods. He turned to where the gods were standing and screamed at them, and then pulled a tree from the ground and threw it aside.

The Æsir gathered quickly. "All-Father, it is clear he is not a man but a mountain giant, as we suspected from the first," one said. "We must break our oath."

"We do not make deals with the giants," Odin agreed. "We must drive him away." Odin closed his eyes. "Thor," he said, and across the mountains Thor stood and took notice. "We have need of you here."

By the time evening approached, Thor was there, Mjölnir in his hand. He immediately went to Odin and knelt. "What is it, father?"

"While you were gone, a builder came to us and we swore oaths. If he finishes the stronghold by the morning of two days from now, we must give him Freyja's hand in marriage, the sun, and the moon. He demanded too high a price and now we know that he is a mountain giant, making our deal null. Drive him away from here."

"Yes, father." Thor stood and nodded at his mother, who gave him a strained smile. Thor had expected Loki to be in the hall as well, waiting for him, but he was not there. Thor walked towards where the gods were watching the giant lay waste to the land around him. Storm clouds began to gather. Thor felt energy thrum under his skin. This was a real adversary, a fight worthwhile.

Thor saw his friends in the crowd and greeted them with a grin. "No time for pleasantries, but I trust you have been well."

"Good to have you back," Fandral said with an answering smile.

Thor scanned the crowd. He did not see Loki in the crowd, either. "Where is Loki? Not reading at a time like this, I hope?"

When no one answered, Thor looked back at their faces. All three warriors were pale. "What?" Thor demanded. The Warriors Three exchanged a look.

"He is not here."

"Where, then?" The warriors still said nothing. Thor felt anger and frustration building in him. _"Where is my brother?"_ Lighting flashed in the sky and a boom of thunder rolled through the clouds.

"He drew away the giant's horse yesterday evening," Hogun said quietly. "We have not seen him since." Hogun lowered his eyes. "We . . . believe he used a mare as bait."

Thor smiled confusedly. "But why–" Understanding hit him like an arrow. His face darkened. "I see."

The giant only had time to look up when he heard the crackling of lighting._ "You dare place such demands on us?"_ Thor screamed above the winds, and when he let Mjölnir fall, the blow shattered the giant's skull. Thor landed heavily beside the giant's body, using the power of his hammer to lessen the impact of the fall. A shockwave rolled out around him, but the walls of the fortress hardly even trembled. Thor stood. "It is done," he called to Odin. The clouds roiled, but there was no more lightning and the last boom of thunder faded away.

Thor's grip on Mjölnir loosened only slightly. There was still anger in him, and . . . fear. Thor frowned and looked toward the forest. If Loki had been the bait, how long had he – could he – run? All night, or was he still running now? And why would he do such a thing? What if he had been hurt?

Thor walked toward the forest without a backward glance. He knew most of the gods did not care for Loki, and he understood why. Loki's tongue was sharp, and he was not a warrior like the rest of them. His way of fighting was strange and his tricks seemed dishonorable. But had not a single Æsir thought to look for him, not even their own father?

The light was dimming in the forest. Thor continued a little way into the trees before he paused, listening. He wanted to call out, ask for his brother, but something made him keep quiet.

Thor walked as quietly as he could. The trees thinned and he came upon a clearing where the light still shone well enough. Thor stopped and stared. On the other side of the clearing was a mare he had never seen before. When Thor appeared, it perked its ears and walked steadily toward him. It stopped so close Thor could feel its warm breath on his face. Its eyes were brown and soft, not green, but there were an arrogance in the arch of its neck and a teasing mincing of its steps that were difficult to miss. "Loki?" Thor breathed, and set a hand slowly on its neck.

The mare nickered and nuzzled at the front of Thor's armor and under his arm. Thor laughed until he realized that Loki was trying to chew on his cape. "No, stop that," Thor told him, and pushed away his head. The mare puffed out a breath and gave Thor a look that was very clearly one of amusement. "Brother," Thor said quietly, and he put a hand on the mare's neck again, as though holding Loki's shoulder. "Will you come home?"

The mare immediately turned away, brushing Thor aside and swishing its tail as it did so. It walked back the way it had come.

"Brother, wait!" Thor said. He felt guilty, he realized. He should have stayed. He should have been there and kept Loki from having to do what he did. The mare stopped and looked back at him. "Only tell me . . ." Thor took a step forward. "Are you hurt?"

The horse blew air dismissively and seemed to shake its head. It gazed at him for a long moment, and then turned and disappeared into the trees.

Over the next year, Loki was seen in Asgard even less than usual. Whenever Thor saw him, Loki would only speak pleasantries or tease him. He avoided physical contact, Thor never saw him sleep, and his eyes were strangely empty, as though he were one of Loki's illusions. Though it worried Thor a great deal, he was often gone on quests and was rarely in the stronghold, the Æsir's new home, so it was difficult to say that it was not all simply his imagination.

One day, while Odin was in the throne room discussing matters with Thor and some of his best warriors, the guards opened the door unexpectedly. Everyone looked up to see Loki, pale but grinning, walking toward them. Beside him was a dark grey foal on spindly legs – too many legs. Eight, Thor noted faintly. If foals could normally be considered awkward at best, this one hardly seemed to know how to walk at all. However, that did not seem to dampen its enthusiasm, as it kept up with Loki well enough and looked around at everything curiously.

Odin rose. "Loki, it has been a long time."

"Yes it has, father." Loki knelt, still grinning, and the horse stopped beside him. It strained its neck forward, trying to nibble at Odin's shoe without having to climb the stairs. "Sleipnir," Loki said in a soft but commanding voice that Thor had never heard him use before. The horse jerked its head back from Odin and perked its ears towards Loki.

"What is this . . . creature?" Odin asked with a frown. He did not seem to be quite sure whether he was insulted by the foal's antics or charmed by it.

"His name is Sleipnir. He can already outrace even the best of your horses, and I do not doubt that when he is grown he will be able to best any horse in all the realms." Loki looked up at Odin hopefully. "If you will permit me, father, I will place him in your stables. He will be the best of all horses, and no horse would be worthier to be your mount."

"How did you come by him?"

The foal tried to nuzzle Loki's neck. Loki absently put a restraining hand on its nose. It fell still and began trying to nibble his fingers. "He is mine." Loki's voice dropped lower and his eyes flicked away briefly. "His sire is Svadilfari, the giant's horse."

Odin was silent for a moment. Thor felt his heart constrict. He wondered whether Loki had wanted this, or whether this was yet another sacrifice he had had to make. He looked at his brother's brave but uncertain smile, and knew that only a word could crush him.

"Very well. Place him in the stables."

Relief spread across Loki's face and he let out a breath of laughter. "Of course." At Odin's nod of dismissal, Loki stood and walked back down the hall, his hand on Sleipnir's neck.

Thor smiled to himself. If there was one thing Loki was very good at, it was turning a bad situation to his best advantage. He found joy in few things, and if this horse was the thing to make him happy for the time, so be it. With Sleipnir as Odin's mount, perhaps Loki's joy would fade, but that did not make it any less real now.

And really, how could a horse with eight legs not be the best of all horses?


End file.
